Taiwan-based Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE) has disclosed plans to issue new shares and unsecured corporate bonds. Proceeds from the share and bond issues will be used to repay bank loans, according to the packaging and testing company.

Qualcomm, through subsidiary Qualcomm Datacenter Technologies, has announced commercial sampling of 10nm server processors. The Qualcomm Centriq 2400 series has up to 48-cores, and is built on 10nm FinFET process technology.

Chipmakers including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), United Microelectronics (UMC) and Micron Technology have been informed by their upstream suppliers that prices for 12-inch blank silicon wafers will rise by up to 20% in the first quarter of 2017, according to industry sources.

Nanoelectronics research center imec has reported for the first time the CMOS integration of vertically stacked gate-all-around (GAA) silicon nanowire MOSFETs. Key in the integration scheme is a dual-work-function metal gate enabling matched threshold voltages for the n- and p-type devices. Also, the...

Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE) saw its consolidated revenues decrease 1.3% from a year earlier in November 2016, while sales generated from its core IC ATM (assembly test and material) business grew 15.5% on year.

Taiwan recorded total export value of US$25.34 billion for November 2016, decreasing 5.3% on month but increasing 12.1% on year, while the corresponding total import value of US$21.07 billion dropped 5.8% on month but grew 3% on year, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Finance (MOF)...

Packaging and testing company Powertech Technology (PTI) has reported consolidated revenues of NT$4.61 billion (US$145 million) for November 2016, hitting a monthly record for the fourth consecutive month.

Pure-play foundry Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has spent a total of NT$16.05 billion (US$504.6 million) on equipment from five suppliers, according to recent filings issued with the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE).

Vigorous M&A activity in 2015 and 2016 has reshaped the landscape of the semiconductor industry, with the top companies now controlling a much greater percentage of market share, according to IC Insights.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has outlined its investment schedule for 5nm and more advanced node manufacturing, including plans to build a new manufacturing site with investment totaling NT$500 billion (US$15.6 billion), according to Yang Hung-duen, Taiwan's minister of science...

Chip demand for Apple's iPad devices has been slow according to supply-chain sources. Shipments of the iPad-series for 2016 could reach just 40 million units or even below the mark, the sources indicated.

Worldwide sales of semiconductors reached US$30.5 billion for the month of October 2016, an increase of 3.4% from the previous month's total of US$29.5 billion and 5.1% higher than the October 2015 total of US$29.0 billion, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).

IC packaging and testing houses Siliconware Precision Industries (SPIL) and King Yuan Electronics Company (KYEC) have reported on-year revenue growth of 7.4% and 20.7%, respectively, for November 2016.

Worldwide semiconductor manufacturing equipment billings reached US$11 billion in the third quarter of 2016, according to SEMI. The billings figure was 5% higher than the prior quarter, and 14% above the level a year ago.

Taiwan's November 2016 consumer price index (CPI) of 106.53 (2011 as base year) decreased 0.43% on month but increased 1.97% on year, while the corresponding wholesale price index (WPI) of 85.29 rose 0.63% on month but dropped 0.28% on year, according to statistics released by the Directorate-General...

Strong shipments for flexible PCB inspection products have boosted revenues at equipment supplier Machvision, which saw its cumulative 2016 revenues through November already break the record of NT$710 million (US$22.1 million) generated in 2013.

Wafer probing specialist Ardentec has signed a NT$4 billion (US$125.4 million) syndicated loan agreement with eight local banks in Taiwan, according to a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE).

Device vendors including Xiaomi, LG Electronics and Sony have all expressed their intention to develop smartphone chips in-house. Nevertheless, the average selling price for smartphone SoCs has been trending down, while the cost of developing advanced chips using 10nm and below process technologies...

Packaging and testing company ChipMOS Technologies will enter a trading halt on November 30, pending the release of material information, according to a company filing with the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TSE).

Taiwan's top-three IC foundries will see their combined revenues drop only 0.6% sequentially in the fourth quarter of 2016 indicating a particularly strong fourth quarter, according to Digitimes Research.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is expected to post up to a 3% sequential decrease in consolidated revenues in the first quarter of 2017, but will enjoy revenue growth in the following quarter, according to industry sources.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is planning to roll out a 12nm process node to further enhance its competitiveness in the 28nm and more advanced technology segment, according to industry sources.

Taiwan's economic growth rate for the third quarter of 2016 is estimated at 2.03%, adjusted 0.04pp from the forecast made in August 2016, according to the Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) on November 25.

Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC) has announced the official inauguration of Ningbo Semiconductor International (NSI), established by China IC Capital - a wholly-owned investment fund of SMIC - Ningbo Senson Electronics, and Hua Capital.

Taiwan recorded a manufacturing production index (2011 as base year) of 110.97 for October 2016, increasing 2.10% on month and 5.67% on year, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) on November 23.

Japan-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers posted JPY139.3 billion (US$1.3 billion) in orders in October 2016 (three-month average basis), up 7.3% from JPY129.85 billion in September, according to the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan (SEAJ).

Taiwan had 464,000 jobless citizens in October 2016, equivalent to an unemployment rate of 3.95% which dropped 0.04pp point on month but rose 0.05pp on year, according to statistics released by the Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) on November 22.

Taiwan received export orders worth US$42.68 billion in total in October 2016, decreasing 0.7% on month but increasing 0.3% on year, according to statistics released by the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) on November 21.

Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) approved 2,838 foreign direct investment projects (except from China) with a total value of US$10.291 billion in January-October 2016, respectively decreasing 8.98% and increasing 178.96% on year, according to MOEA statistics released on November 21.

A proposed merger between Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE) and Siliconware Precision Industries (SPIL) is still being reviewed by anti-trust authorities in China and the US despite the recent approval by Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission (FTC). The pair is unlikely to gain approval from the two...

Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMIC) is expected to hike shipments of its 28nm process technology to 20 million chips in the fourth quarter of 2016 from 10 million units in the third, buoyed by orders placed by Qualcomm and Leadcore Technology, according to industry sources.

Taiwan-based eMemory, a logic NVM IP provider, has announced the successful demonstration of its security-enhanced NeoFuse IP in TSMC's 10nm FinFET process, along with IP design kits available to customers for product design-in.

Taiwan's IC production value is forecast to decline 4.8% sequentially to NT$627.7 billion (US$19.8 billion) in the fourth quarter of 2016, according to the Industrial Economics and Knowledge Center (IEK) of the Taiwan government-sponsored Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI).

The top-20 semiconductor companies' sales are forecast to increase by 3% in 2016, according to IC Insights. Among them, five companies are forecast to enjoy double-digit sales growth in 2016 while four are expected to experience double-digit decreases.

As of 2013, the 10 ASEAN nations had a total of over 700 million mobile subscriptions, with the CAGR from 2003-2013 reaching 24%. This Digitimes Research Special Report analyzes the various mobile broadband markets in ASEAN and looks at the respective trends in 4G LTE development for those markets.

This Digitimes Research Special Report analyzes the strategies of key China-based major panel makers BOE, Tianma and IVO for attacking the different market segments through technology and pricing, and their relationship to local vendors Huawei, Lenovo, ZTE, Xiaomi and Coolpad.